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From: GC.SUL@forsythe.stanford.edu (Sullivan)
Newsgroups: rec.birds
Subject: Re: starving hummingbirds
Message-ID: <1991Jan8.192604.7338@morrow.stanford.edu>
Date: 8 Jan 91 19:26:04 GMT
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Regarding feeding hummingbirds, it was an excellent article.  I
have one gripe with it.  I do not reccomend using the instant nectar
sold commercially.  It contains red dye (unnecessary and perhaps
harmful) and sometimes other preservatives.

Experts reccomend using a solution of one part sugar to 4 parts
water.  This is the closest approximation to natural flower nectar.
Red dye if not necessary!  Most feeders have enough red to attract
the birds.

If you want more confirmation, call the Hummingbird Rescue Team at
Palo Alto's Wildlife Rescue.  Or call the Penninsula Humane Society
and ask for Juanita Heineman.  Pat Gonzales is the head of the
Wildlife Rescue team.  These people can give you the correct
proceedure, and are also the ones to call if you find an injured
hummer.

We got down to 8 degrees up here in Kelseyville and I kept switching
frozen with fresh feeders.  Still have several hummers around-don't
know how they survived.

Karen Sullivan